Converted tight end Spencer Havner returned to his original position of linebacker for Thursday morning's practice. M.P. King/Press-Gazette

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When the Green Bay Packers hatched the idea of moving Spencer Havner from linebacker to tight end this offseason, it seemed like the death knell of his career.

Typically when a bottom-of-the-roster journeyman changes positions, it doesn’t work. Over the years, the Packers have tried it with the likes of Chris Darkins and Kyle Wachholtz, and they ended up on the waiver wire.

Something about Havner’s position switch feels different.

Perhaps it’s because during this training camp, Havner hasn’t completely abandoned one position for the other. On Thursday morning, he was back at his “natural” position, inside linebacker, after spending the first four days of camp at his new position, tight end. Havner also has lined up with the No. 1 unit on every special teams category, a sign that he’s a coveted player.

“He’s playing iron-man football right now,” tight ends coach Ben McAdoo said. “Mentally, he’s got a full load, and there’s nowhere to hide. Everything’s on the table for him.”

Havner took the long road to the NFL to begin with. An undrafted free agent out of UCLA, he was waived three times (once by Washington and twice by the Packers) in training camp final roster cuts. After spending a combined 36 weeks over three seasons (2006-08) on the Packers’ practice squad, he finally was elevated to the 53-man roster for the final four weeks of last season.

Having exhausted his practice-squad eligibility, it’s the roster or bust this time around.

His best chance is to become a special-teams stalwart, but he also needs to show he can play a position — or two. The switch to the 3-4 means the Packers will need nine or 10 linebackers. Havner practiced most of the offseason at the Mack position, which is A.J. Hawk’s spot in the defense. There’s also no clear No. 3 tight end behind Donald Lee and Jermichael Finley.

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The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Havner last played tight end at Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley, Calif., although in practice the last two years he lined up at tight end and linebacker on the scout team.

“We have a lot of good linebackers, and I think this is just a way to find me a role on the team — play special teams and backup at tight end and linebacker,” Havner said. “I think I can play tight end, and I know I can play linebacker.”

Havner was back with the defense on Thursday morning because the practice was a review of what had been covered when Havner was busy learning the offense. During the jog-through period, he clutched a cheat sheet of defensive calls.

“Fundamentally, he’s behind because he hasn’t practiced much or played (tight end), but he has the ability to recover if he gets in a difficult situation,” McAdoo said. “He’s a very bright guy, a hard-working guy and he brings the right attitude and some toughness to the table.”

When asked if Havner is more of a blocking tight end than a receiver, McAdoo said, “He’s got some wiggle to him and some shake, and he’s got soft hands.”

If anyone’s rooting for Havner to stick, it’s special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum, who sees the value of a player with two-way skills on special teams.

“If in fact he can be on our roster, he adds so much value if he can do all of those things,” Slocum said. “Playing linebacker and tight end, the ability to do that, he’s got a knack for both blocking and tackling.”

True two-way players in the NFL are rare these days. According to the Associated Press, when Denver’s Spencer Larsen started at middle linebacker and fullback against Atlanta on Nov. 15, 2008, he joined Orlando Brown (Baltimore, 2003), Champ Bailey (Washington, 2000) and Deion Sanders (Dallas, 1996) as the only NFL players to start on offense and defense in the same game since 1990.

Havner isn’t trying to become a two-way star; he’s just hoping for a better fate than Darkins, who played 14 games as a backup running back/special teams player in 1997, then switched to cornerback and was cut the next season; or Wachholtz, who was on the practice squad as a quarterback (1996) and tight end (1997) before getting the ax.

“I think it would be a pretty nice accomplishment,” Havner said. “I love the challenge of it. I’m so glad coach (Mike) McCarthy dreamt this up or whatever, but I think it’s pretty good.”